Furniture and fixtures for use by babies and small children often presents a problem for parents with limited living space. For this reason it is desirable that such furniture serve more than one purpose. As children mature rapidly and as their needs change as they mature, it is useful if furniture and fixtures designed for them can be used during different phases of their development. A bedside co-sleeper is very useful for an infant or very young child. However as the child grows, it will soon be desirable for him or her to have a separate bed. If the co-sleeper can then be put to other uses, the parents will save both space and the cost of other furniture. Various examples of such multi-purpose children's furniture have been patented and sold.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,349,709, issued to Cheng teaches a folding combination playpen and baby bed having an elevated floorboard. U.S. Pat. No. 5,339,470, issued to Shamie discloses a combination foldable playpen and dressing/changing table. Mariol adds an upper level to a playpen to provide a bassinet. The short legs of the upper level are inserted into openings in the top of the vertical supports of the playpen. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,553,336). U.S. Pat. No. 2,632,186, issued to Berk et al. discloses a portable combination crib and playpen. Saldana teaches a unit designed for home and travel that may be used as a support for a playpen, bassinet or baby chair (U.S. Pat. No. 2,691,176).
Beside cribs that attached to the parents' bed were known at the turn of the century (U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,548,005; 620,069; 1,138,451; 1,283,169; 1,267,244) but fell out of favor for many years. Recently there has been a resurgence in the practice of having babies adjacent the parents' bed. Such bed-side cribs are taught in U.S. Pat. No. 5,172,435 to Griffin et al.; U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,148,561 to Tharalson et al; and 5,293,655 to Van Winkle et al.
It is an objective of the present invention to provide an attractive piece of furniture that will serve as a sturdy bedside co-sleeper while providing alternative uses as the child matures.
It is a further objective of the invention to provide a unit that can be readily converted to a child's easel. It is still a further objective of the present invention that the unit serves as a means to store or display a child's toys. It is yet a further objective of the invention that the unit be adaptable for use with platform-style beds that are typically lower than conventional beds. It is another objective of the present invention that the legs of the unit is adjustable to provide a comfortable working height when employed as a child's easel. Finally, it is an objective of the invention that the unit be convertible from one function to another without the use of tools and that no small loose parts are required that might be swallowed by the child.
Other features and advantages of the invention will be seen from the following description and drawings.